December 2018

So, another year has come to an end, and it goes without saying that as with every other year, a lot has happened - I'll try and keep it brief.

Negatives:
- Changes in my job
- Disillusion with social media
- Our pet ferrets Apollo and Luna both diagnosed with cancer
- Passing of our pet turtle Chief (RIP)
- Recent events around the world
- Personal matters (will not disclose those here)

Positives:
+ Still producing artwork - first Fyfe & Sparkplug comic completed
+ Opened a Twitter account
+ Began creating my own website
+ First full year working in a permanent job
+ Started getting help with my personal issues
+ 2 years married to my lovely wife
+ Lots of beach time and photography
+ Various getaways (mostly Rhode Island but a few detours here and there)
+ Flew back to the UK for the first time since my move to the US, via setting foot in Ireland for the first time

The past month was mostly busy, due to the festive season, with getting the house ready as well as it being one if the busiest times of year work-wise. However me and my wife did find time for celebration - two very close friends of ours, who had been engaged for quite some time, finally tied the knot this month, and we were present for the occasion - many congrats to the happy couple.
I ended up having both Christmas Eve and Day off, and it was mostly a nice relaxed couple of days - we spent it with the in laws, and needless to say presents, food, a board game, driving to see Christmas lights and deer, as well as some classic holiday films were involved. I also got the chance to wish my family back home in the UK well via Skype, which was wonderful.

To end this final blog of 2018, I'll leave you with this year's festive group shot for my close DeviantArt followers. All the best for 2019.

P.S. Here's a recent tune I came up with: https://youtu.be/-wXTZHLlL54

December 2017

Another year has come and gone, and as I seem to say every year, where did that time go?

This month became very wintry weather-wise, but it certainly didn't dampen Christmas one bit. In fact, we actually got some snow on Christmas Day (it's been a long time since that's happened), which just added to the spirit. Me and my wife spent this Christmas much like we did last year, opening presents, watching Christmas films and building gingerbread sculptures with the in laws. I was also able to Skype with my family while they were having their Christmas get-together too. Hopefully one day me and my wife will be able to celebrate Christmas with my family again - I miss them always, but this time of year makes it all the more poignant, especially this year, as December 3 2017 was the 10th anniversary of my grandad's passing - I still miss him very much, and while I'm also sad that my wife never got the chance to meet him, I like to think that he's with us in spirit, always.
There were also two other anniversaries this month - December 28 marked 2 years since I swapped County Durham for Connecticut, and it goes without saying that a lot has happened in that time (more on that in a bit). Also, December 30 marked 3 years since I popped the question to my lovely wife, it almost feels like that moment was a lifetime ago.


Looking back, this year has been very eventful, much like 2016 was, and not always for the right reasons. However for me personally there were a lot more highs than lows, and a couple of really important events happened this year - in September I finally landed a permanent job, which is still keeping me busy despite a bump in the road. And just last month, me and my wife moved to our new house, which we are now pretty much adjusted to do, and it's safe to say that we love it so much better than our first place. Hopefully 2018 will see lots of memories being made in this house.
My personal highlight of 2017, however, was back in May, when me and my wife flew down to Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL for our honeymoon. For a few days we got to explore the parks, go on rides, be kids again, and celebrate our marriage. I can only wonder highlights 2018 will bring.

I'll leave you with some festive artwork - carrying on my tradition of festive group shots over on DeviantArt, here is this year's edition.
I also have some potentially exciting news regarding artwork - but I'm going to save it until I get the green light. It'll be a great way to start off 2018 though.

I would just like to end this by saying thanks to everyone who's read this blog, checked out my artworks or just supported me in any way this past year - wishing you all the best for the New Year. See you in 2018. :)

December 2016

Well...to talk about this past year, where do I even begin?

Before that, there's this past month to talk about - and as well as freezing cold weather, it also brought me some good news. It took 11 months, but I finally got my residence card, and my social security number, which means I can now legally work in the US, and also travel abroad again, and needless to say I am happy this has finally all been sorted. Now I just need to find a job.

Of course, this month the festive season came around, and as hectic as it was, with buying presents and getting the house all decorated for the occasion, it was really enjoyable. It was also very bittersweet - on the less positive side, it brought back all the memories and feelings of this time last year.  However on the positive side, me and my wife Nicole spent Christmas with her family, and along with a very memorable gift-giving we also put together a gingerbread village (I wonder why those are only popular in the US?), which was a lot of fun. This was also our first Christmas together as a married couple, and it was all the more special because of that, I certainly hope neither of us forget it.

I still can't believe that I left behind my family and my old life in the UK a year ago, and I still remember all the mixed emotions I felt that week, with having to say goodbye to my family, yet also feeling excited about starting a new life across the pond. I do miss my family a lot, and I really hope that me and Nicole will be able to take a trip over to the UK to see them again at some point in 2017, but I also don't regret making the move. As I've said before, it was an event in my life that needed to happen.

Needless to say, 2016 has been quite an eventful year. I know a lot of awful stuff has happened in the world this year, with political upheaval, the passing of many famous faces (closer to home, I lost a dear friend in November) and all the injustices in the world that just seem to escalate year after year - but I guess we should all be thankful for the all good things that have happened too. The world is full of beauty and good people too - you just have to dig through all the dirt to find it.

On that note, I hope everyone had a good Christmas, and I wish you all the best for 2017 - and as always, I'll leave you with some artwork - a festive group shot of me and my wife's main characters in fine voice.

December 2015

Where do I begin?

To say that December has been a month of mixed emotions doesn't begin to cover it. There comes a time in everyone's lives where something has to change, and on 28 December 2015, such a moment happened to me - I said goodbye to my family and my life in my home country of the UK that I've known for the past 29 years, and took a one way flight across the pond to start a new life in the USA with my soon-to-be wife Nicole. This was something that had been in the works for this whole year, and while the waiting and the whole process of applying for the visa got a little bit frustrating at times, it all came together in the end.
I always knew that saying goodbye to my family, especially my twin brother, would be one of the hardest things that I would ever have to do, and as emotional as it was, it needed to be done. At the end of the day, they all want me to be happy, no matter where I am in the world. And making this move doesn't mean that I intend on losing touch with any of my family or friends back in the UK, if anything it makes my connection with them stronger. As a good friend said to me, "you can take the lad out of County Durham but you can't take County Durham out of the lad."
My flights over to the US were absolutely fine, and to my surprise I had no trouble at US customs either - the only problem that happened was that British Airways left one of my bags in London, but that all got sorted thankfully. And when I was reunited with my lovely Nicole, I was finally able to say "I did it!"
We got moved into our own place, a very spacious apartment - it took a couple of days to adjust to it, there were a few moments where we both thought "pinch me, is this real?", but it already feels like home now. There's still much for me to get used to, but I'm sure in time that I will, and I know that Nicole will help me to do so.
With all that's been happening, Christmas has almost been an afterthought - however I'm glad that I was able to spend Christmas with my family before the move, as well as apending the New Year with Nicole and her family and friends - the best of both worlds, really.
As 2015 draws to a close, I can only wonder what 2016 is going to bring, not just for myself but for everyone. To this I say, it will bring what it will bring, let's just see what happens.

I'll leave you with my final artwork selection of this year, a festive group shot for my DeviantArt friends. Which leaves me to say just this: wherever you are in the world, whoever you're with, I wish you all the best for 2016 and beyond. :)

December 2014

Where do I start...what a month this has been, and without a doubt it's been a month of two halves.

You know that feeling when the festive season slowly starts to creep in, even though you try so hard to try and resist the cheesiness of it all? I had that, but also a lot of nerves, which was pretty much how it was for the first half of this month, working at my charity shop placement and keeping busy with that, my artwork and buying Christmas presents for family and friends (as usual, I cut it fine).

Those nerves were all for the anticipation of the second half of the month, as I knew I would be spending my first Christmas and New Year away from home (27 years though, quite a record) - on the 11th, I jetted off on my second trip across the Atlantic to the US this year, and my sixth US trip overall. It was very bittersweet leaving my family behind, but at the end of the day I know that they want me to be living my life and enjoying it - and when I travel, that's what I'm doing.

And now the trip itself - with only an annoying delay to my long haul flight and a customs office giving me the third degree, my travel to the US was pretty much fine, so once again all the nerves about the flying was for nothing. Since I arrived Stateside, so much has happened - I got to be with my lovely Nicole again, as well as her family and friends, we revisited places that we'd been to before, including Branford Point, Stony Creek, Mystic Village, and of course the Big Apple aka New York City, as well as also spending a couple of days over in Long Island revisiting a couple of close friends from DeviantArt, however I was seeing it all slightly differently, with it being my first trip to the US in Winter - my previous visits were all in either Spring or Summer, and while there were some unseasonally warm temaperatures and no blizzards, there were also some freezing days too - and as I type this, there's still every chance of one of those infamous wintry nor'easters to hit. I also discovered some new places previously unseen, including the beautiful Chatfield Hollow State Park with its forests and lake, and the impressive collection of planes on display at the New England Air Museum.
It was a little bit strange celebrating Christmas over 3,000 miles away from home, but I still enjoyed it, and I got to experience the occasion American style, and not that this is much of a big secret, but the Americans don't half make a bigger deal of Christmas than what we Brits do, that's for sure - every other house had elaborate lighting displays, Christmas music was all over the radio, and Nicole's family certainly weren't shy with the presents, not that I asked for anything - the only present I wanted was to be able to spend the festive season with Nicole, and I think that's the one present both of us truly asked for. (I apologise for the slushiness.)
I also got reacquainted with some old American food favourites, as well as giving some new ones a try - and there was also another first this trip, as myself and Nicole attended two of her friends' wedding, and we weren't just spectating, we were both in the wedding party, Nicole was the maid of honour, I was one of the groomsmen, and we were both dressed the part for it too. The ceremony went beautifully, the reception was blast, many congratulations to the happy couple, and I was glad that both me and Nicole got to be a part of it too.

As I type this, 2014 is into its last 24 hours, and I will be getting to see in the New Year over in the States, with Nicole, her family and friends. My final thoughts on this year? Like most years it's been up and down - there have been times where I've wanted to crawl into a hole, but also times where I feel like I've had the time of my life. No-one knows what 2015 will bring, or what'll be happening a year from now, but I will be celebrating on New Year's regardless. If there is definitely one thing I want to celebrate from this past year, it's all the memories that have been made.

To sign off, I'll leave you with this festive group shot I made for my DeviantArt friends. Wherever you are, and whoever you're with, all the best for 2015.

Christmas, London, 2013 and a special someone

Well, where do I start? It's the last month of 2013 already, and it's been quite an eventful one to say the least. For a start, it's been getting colder weather-wise, but not as cold as it was last year, and there hasn't been any significant snowfall...yet. I'm sure January and February will bring that.

As with most of this year, there's been ups and downs this month - I'm still getting pressure from those "certain quarters" I mentioned last month, and I worry that it's only gonna get worse in 2014 on that front. Unfortunately, all I can keep doing is jumping through all the hoops they throw at me, and just hope that I can get a job so that I won't have to deal with all of that anymore.

There have been plenty of great moments this month though - read on to hear all about them...

London

I took the train down to London on the 19th to see the sights there for the very first time, I'd only visited there once before in 2009, but only to pass through on my way to the South Coast. This time I was there to actually see the city itself, and it was just as huge and bustling as I imagined it would be. I wasn't alone for this sightseeing, either - I met up with one of my friends from deviantART, Mike (aka Dracorum-Order), who is from London, and he had quite the way with words and puns - he needs to work on his punctuality a little though, I had a right carry-on hunting him down at King's Cross!
First off, we headed to the South Bank and checked out the arts centre and Christmas market there, before checking out the sunlit views of the River Thames and the London skyline on the London Eye (aka the big ferris wheel where they set off the New Year's fireworks display on telly every year). After that, we took a walk along Westminster Bridge (complete with Pac-Man) and saw the Houses of Parliament, as well as hearing Big Ben's famous chimes. In Westminster we saw statues of famous figureheads, including Winston Churchill and the recently departed Nelson Mandela, whose statue was surrounded by many floral tributes from passers-by, and we also had a look at the famous Westminster Abbey.
Stopped for a bite to eat in the very picturesque St. James' Park, complete with geese and squirrels (one of which jumped on me), where I also got distracted watching the incoming air traffic on approach to Heathrow, before we made our way to the home of Her Majesty - Buckingham Palace of course. It looked grand indeed, with the equally as grand looking palace gates - and Her Majesty must've been at home, because the Union Jack was flying. The guards were doing their patrol march too, however there was no changing of the guard routine that day. Mike also let rip with a quite hilarious impression of Her Majesty and Prince Charles, too.
By this point the weather had taken a turn for the worse, so we made our way to Trafalgar Square, which seemed a lot smaller to me than what I'd seen in pictures and on telly - still, it was cool to see it, complete with fountains, the National Gallery, Nelson's Column, and a giant blue chicken. Aye, you read that right. A giant blue chicken.
No visit to London would be complete without having to take a ride on the Tube, which we did a few times - used it to get down to the riverside to get a night-time view of the City district, the ship HMS Belfast, the infamous Tower of London, and the one and only Tower Bridge. We also saw a more modern landmark, the oddly-shaped skyscraper known as the Shard.
Finally, we made our way to Greenwich, to the place formerly known as the Millennium Dome, now better known as the O2 Arena, where I met up with another deviantART friend - Scott, aka toonfreak8, who had flown in to the UK from the US for Christmas, along with his dad's wife. The four of us then took a walk around the O2, which admittedly wasn't really much to look at, there were mostly shops and bars, although I imagine that the actual concert venue is pretty spectacular when there's an event going on. Myself, Scott and Mike then had a doodle session in which we drew each others' characters, which was a blast. Sadly it seemed that the moment to say our goodbyes came far too soon, but it was great to meet both Mike and Scott and to see the sights of the capital. Hopefully I'll be able to take another London trip in the future, as there's still a lot there that I didn't get to see.

To see the video of my London trip, click right here: London - 19/12/2013

Christmas and Nicole's visit

Aye, it was that time of year again, were everything gets festive, merry and downright chaotic - I probably left most of my Christmas shopping till last minute as usual. 
Normally, I don't look forward to Christmas as much as did when I was a kid, for obvious reasons, although somehow I end up getting into the spirit anyway - however, this year I had much more reason to look forward to it, as my girlfriend Nicole flew in from the US on the 21st, to spend Christmas and New Year here with me.
As I type this, she still has a week of her trip to go - so far we've been around my hometown and met family and friends, been shopping in the pouring rain at Bishop Auckland and revisited a childhood beauty spot at Hill End up in Weardale. Best of all though was that we attended Christmas Eve mass together along with my grandma and brother, and of course we got to open presents together on Christmas Day. There was only one present I asked for (new pair of jeans from my mam), but as with every year I ended up getting quite a lot anyway, including clothes, a couple of CDs and a couple of sketchpads - and from Nicole, I got a Christmas card (complete with slushy writing, lol) and a festive Pocket Dragon ornament. I think the best present was that Nicole herself was here to spend Christmas with me, though. (You can go get your sickbuckets now.)

Here's what we got up to on Christmas Day: Christmas Day 2013

Looking back

So that's it - another year over, and as I said at the start, I don't know where to begin with what's happened this year...like most years, it's been eventful with ups and downs. The highlights are many though, and if I had to pick one absolute highlight of this past year, it would have to be my summer trip to the US, more specifically the moment when me and Nicole celebrated our 1st anniversary in front of Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World in Florida. (Again, you can go and get those sickbuckets.)
I don't know what 2014 is gonna bring, but I'm not making any resolutions, because it's easy to say "I'll do this, I'll do that this year", but it's difficult to follow through on them. That's why I'll do what I've done every year, and I'll wing it. To quote a famous saying, "what will be, will be".

Last but not least, I'll leave you with a festive piece of artwork (and there's been lots of artwork this year, too): 
Merry Christmas 2013 

Wishing you all the very best for 2014 and beyond. :)

Year's end

So another year's gone. 

It's safe to say that 2012 has been memorable for me, with plenty of ups and plenty of downs - with this being the first full year of me and my brother living in our own place there were times this year where things got too much, especially with the whole arrears situation at the start of the year, and of course my continued failure to find a job. Can't forget what seemed to be an endless deluge of rain for a month or two, either.

There's been good times too, though - the numerous times me and Chris hit the quasar at South Shields with friends; me getting out for my long hikes up the Deerness Valley Way and enjoying the sun and the countryside; hitting the beach at Tynemouth in the summer, plus watching the aerial action at the Sunderland Airshow. Can't forget about this year being the year that the Olympics were held in this country too, even though I didn't watch much of it.
However, for me this year has had one clear highlight - two awesome weeks at the end of May when my long-time friend Nicole from Connecticut in the US flew over to visit, just like I'd visited her the previous year. The weather was beautiful for those 2 weeks, and we made the most of it, seeing the sights and most of all being together - it was the push that made me realise that I needed her in my life as more than a friend.

I have to mention the festive season too - went to Christmas Eve mass with my grandma as I always do every year, it was a nice service, and it just felt like for that whole hour or so we were there that the outside world just disappeared.
Christmas Day was good too - I only asked for one present, but of course I ended up getting far more, from family, friends and Nicole. I also sent out quite a few presents and cards to family and friends. Me and my brother also had a nice quiet dinner, chat and telly at our grandma's house too.
Boxing Day was also good, spent the day at our grandma's house again, only this time a few of the rest of the family were there, along with a buffet, some music and a very animated game of Bop It - all in all, it was a good Christmas.

However I'm not going to sugarcoat anything, not even at this time of year. It's always the same, the festive season gets you feeling all warm and fuzzy and upbeat, only for the new year to come along and break it at the neck without any warning. 
I can't say that I'm really feeling very positive about 2013 - I have no job, the chances of getting one seem to get worse every year, with all the cuts the government are making plus the price of everything going up in April I'm worried about how I'm going to be able to afford the flat etc, not to mention the fact that I'm still hoping to fly back over to the US in the summer, and that stuff like that could wreck it and/or any other future plans I might have.
And then there are other things - stuff that's going on in my family that just really get me down, stuff that I'm not going to discuss here.

All the same - wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I wish everyone all the best for the New Year.